Hot Topics:

Clergy: Low-income customers need Market Basket crisis to end

By Hiroko Sato, hsato@lowellsun.com

Posted:
08/16/2014 06:50:41 AM EDT

Urging an end to the Market Basket crisis Friday are, from left, the Rev. David Berroa of Peniel Spanish Christian Church in Lowell, the Rev. Victor Jarvis of Ebenezer Christian Church in Lawrence, the Rev. Paul Ouellette of St. Patrick Church in Lowell, and the Rev. Raffoul Najem of Community Christian Fellowship in Lowell. They spoke at the site of the original company store on Dummer Street in Lowell. (SUN / HIROKO SATO)

LOWELL -- Under St. Patrick Church's spire that soars from between the rows of public housing buildings near Broadway, the Rev. Paul Ouellette often hears parishioners talk about how they are worried about their jobs and families.

It's been nearly eight weeks since Market Basket workers began protesting the firing of former CEO Arthur T. Demoulas, putting their jobs on the line. Many of the church's 1,000 parishioners work for the supermarket chain. And for many low-income and elderly residents, Market Basket stores are the only place where they can walk to buy inexpensive groceries.

The impact of the feud between Arthur T. Demoulas and his cousin, Arthur S. Demoulas, has been felt far beyond the company, said the Rev. David Berroa of Peniel Spanish Christian Church of Lowell.

"People are hurting," the Rev. Raffoul Najem of Community Christian Fellowship of Lowell said as he stood with fellow religious leaders to urge the Market Basket owners to work toward a speedy resolution to the crisis. "Small businesses are going out of business because of this issue. Please fix it."

In a press conference organized by the Merrimack Valley Project on Friday, religious leaders from across the region urged the Demoulas cousins to stop the fight for the sake of employees, the community and their own family's legacy.

"When elephants fight, it's the grass that suffers," Ouellette said "It's time for the elephants to stop fighting.

Advertisement

"

The Merrimack Valley Project is a coalition of religious, labor and community groups from around the region that work together to improve the quality of life in the region. It has Lowell, Lawrence and Haverhill-Seacoast chapters. More than 40 clergy members signed the letter urging Market Basket to settle the dispute. The crisis has had a devastating effect in the Merrimack Valley where 20 of the chain's 42 Massachusetts stores are located, the organization said in its press release.

Standing at the site of the original Market Basket store on Dummer Street behind Whistler House Museum of Art, Ouellette said the religious leaders want the former Market Basket CEO and corporate management to try to put the stores back in full operation as soon as possible while sticking to its "commitment to the triple bottom line, which are customers, workers and shareholders."

The group also called on political and business leaders to use their influence to pressure Market Basket owners into hammering out a resolution. Ouellette said the clergy members are praying for a speedy and equitable resolution.

Najem said many immigrants and low-income residents live near Market Basket stores because the supermarket chain sells groceries and goods for affordable prices. Market Basket is the "supermarket of the poor," Najem said.

Najem complained that onions cost him three times as much when shopping at a different supermarket last week -- something many of his parishioners couldn't afford.

"It's the reality," Najem said.

Ouellette said Market Basket has also been known for hiring immigrants. Many area residents have considered the supermarket chain a part of their families because of its involvement in the community, said Ouellette, who remembers shopping at Demoulas Supermarket as a child with his Canadian immigrant parents who worked at wool and silk mills in Lowell.

The workers' protests and the boycott by customers should remind the corporate management about Market Basket's roots in the community and realize it's time to stop the fight, Barroa said.

Ouellette doesn't believe greed is the root cause of the problem. It's more about a family feud, he said.

"As religious leaders, we all have experiences dealing with family feuds," Ouellette said. "We know how difficult and how painful these feuds can be."

So, what's his advice to Arthur T. and Arthur S.?

"Have some quiet time," Ouellette said. "Go off to the mountain" and think about what the feud is doing to the family legacy."